ELGATO WAVE:3
OUR TOP PICK
The Elgato Wave:3 ( go. pcworld.com/ewv3) packs in a lot of performance for a $160
USB microphone. Not only does it sound great out of the box, but it can be tuned further, too. You can also easily adjust the mic during streams, thanks to a capacitive mute button and a physical dial that controls mic gain, headphone volume, and crossfade (that means the balance of your mic versus PC volume when using connected headphones).
Powering the excellent audio is a 24-bit/96khz analog-to-digital converter and a large condenser capsule sensitive to voices of all volumes, plus a lone cardioid polar pattern that keeps the focus on you and not on background noises. Overall, voices sound natural coming through the Wave:3, and transitions from loud to quiet speaking are smooth. Our one nitpick is that this mic would sound even better with a little more sharpness in the midtones.
The Wave:3 also comes with built-in hardware to reduce unwanted vocal pops (those distracting bursts of air that happen when you’re saying words that start with letters like “p” or “b”), as well as a unique feature that reduces clipping (the distortion that happens when you talk or yell louder than the mic can handle) by
switching to a secondary signal that’s been picking up your voice at a lower volume.
Streamers with a two-pc streaming setup or the use of additional non-elgato mics may need to look elsewhere, but for most people, the Wave:3 is the closest to a one-size-fits-all solution—especially since Elgato’s Wavelink software gives you control over audio routing of other sources beyond your mic, too.